Polishing device



July 29, 1958 J. z. NlSHlOKA 2,344,834

' POLISHING DEVICE Filed Nov. 7, 1956 2 SheetsSheet 1 INVENTOR. JIM Z. NISHIOKA ATTORN EY July 29, 1958 J. z. NlSH lOKA POLISHING DEVICE} 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 7, 1956 V INVENTOR. JIM Z. NISHIOKA ATTORNEY United This invention relates in general to portable, powerdriven polishers, and especially to small, electricallyoperated surface polishers adapted to be held in the hand of the operator and conveniently usable particularly in the polishing of automobiles, as well as for polishing such articles as furniture and the like which have a surface suitable for such polishing.

More specifically, this invention relates to the type of power-driven polishers in which an endless driven belt or band of a polishing element is employed instead of the familiar rotary brush or disc polisher.

One of the objects of the present invention .is to provide an improved power-driven polisher of the type above indicated which will be extremely easy. to handle and operate and which can be used in small surface spaces and without the likelihood of any part of the polisher, other than the polishing belt, coming into contact with any portion of the surface which is being polished.

A related object is to provide an improved polisher in which the operating mechanism, including even the driving motor, will be completely encompassed by the endless polishing belt and in which only a minimum amount of metal, limited to that necessary for providing and supporting a hand hold, will extend outside of the space withinthe path of the polishing belt.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved polisher in which the endless polishing belt can quickly and easily be replaced and also in which the tension on the polishing belt can be easily adjusted, as

desired, or when the stretching of the belt with use makes such an adjustment necessary.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved power-driven polisher which will be light in weight and simple and practical in construction, and also which will be relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

The manner in which these objects and other advantages are attained with the polisher of the present invention, and the novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts of which the invention consists, will be briefly described and explained with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the device.

Figure 2 is a plan section on line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a transverse section on line 3-3 of Figures .1 and 2;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the device; and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional elevation on line 5-5 of Figure 2.

The entire mechanism for the device is mounted on a base plate 10, the width of which is slightly less than the width of the endless polishing belt 11, and which base plate is curved upwardly at its ends as shown as a in Figures 1 and 4. A pair of identical and parallel brackets 12 and 13 are rigidly secured to the base plate 10 in the relative position indicated in Figure 2 and extend obliquely upwardly from the base plate 10. These brackatent O "ice ets rotatably support the shaft 14 (Figures '1 and 4) for the composite roller 15 (Figure 2) composed of a center section 1511 and two opposite end sections, 1512 and 15c, all rigidly secured on the common roller shaft 14. The spacing between the center section 15a and the two end sections 15b and 15c is sufficient to allow clearance for the roller brackets 12 and 13, and this arrangement avoids theme of brackets at the outer ends of'the composite roller 15, a feature which will be referred 'tolater.

An electric motor M is secured on the base plate 10 and is connected with and drives the roller 15 by means of a small V-belt 16, which is received in an annular groove 16' provided in the center section 1511 of the roller in order that this driving belt16 will be positioned within the cylindrical outer surface of the roller at all times. Thus neither the roller brackets 12 and 131101 thedriving belt 16 will ever be in contact with the endless'polishing belt 11.

A second composite roller 17, similarly composed of a center section 17a and end sections-17b and 170, secured on the roller shaft 18, is similarly mounted on a pair of identical brackets'19 and 20. These two brackets, however, are adjustably mounted on the base plate 10 and are rigidly connected together by the common cross bar 21. These brackets 19 and 20 are provided with teeth (as shown best at 22 in Figure 5) along their bottom edges, which teeth engage a pair of cooperating rows of teeth 23 provided on the base plate 10. A pair ofsprings ,24. and 25 have their lower ends attached to the base plate 10 and their upper ends attached to the cross bar 21.

vThese springs are so positioned that they slope obliquely upwardly from the base plate ltland aremounted under suflicient tension to hold the pair of brackets 19 and 20 down on the base plate with the cooperating rows of teeth engaged, but the springs also enable the position .of the composite roller 17 to be adjusted to a limited extent outwardly or inwardly with respectto "the adjacent end of the base plate 10.

The'two composite rollers 15 and 17 are identical in overall size, and, as apparent from Figures land 4, provide amounting for the endless polishing belt 11. Also, as apparent, the tension of this polishing belt 11 can be ad usted by manually adjusting the position of the roller 17. Preferably, although not necessarily, the roller 17 may be made of softer material than the other motordnven roller 15 to give an added cushioning effect and to aid further in maintaining the endless polishing belt 11 at an even tension. The rollers 15 and 17 may be made of any suitable material such as rubber,-cork, wood or various composition materials, and can even be made of metal although a softer material than metal is generally to be preferred.

A handle frame assembly consists of two-pairs of legs 26, 27 and 28, 29, located respectively on oppositesides of the device, which legs are attached to the base plate 10 at their bottomends and which extend outwardly and upwardly so as to clear the side edges of the top stretch of the polishing .belt 11. These legs converge above the polishing belt, .so as to provide a rigid support mounting for the handle 30 by which the entire device is held and moved about by the operator.

7 The legs 28 and 29 of the handle frame assembly are h ngedly mounted on the base plate 10 by means of hinge pins 28' and 29 (Figure 2) which are mounted in pairs of lugs secured to the base plate 10 and located a short distance in from the lateral edge of the base plate. The bottom ends of the legs 26 and 27 terminate in bifurcated flanges 26 and 27 respectively which are adapted for engagement by wing nuts .31 and 32 carried on bolts 33 and 34, which bolts in turn are pivotly mounted in pairs of lugs secured to the base plate 10. Thus the loosening of 'thewing nuts 31 and 32 enables the nuts and bolts to 3 be moved out of engagement with the bottom flanges 26' and 27 and releases the legs 26 and 27 from their connection with the base plate so that the entire handle frame assembly can be swung upwardly and to one side on the hinge pins 28' and 29'. This is done whenever the polishing belt 11 requires replacement or adjustment;

While the springs 24 and act to hold the brackets 19 and 20 for the roller 17 down against the base plate 10,

with the bracket teeth 22 in adjusted engagement with the teeth 23 on the base plate 10 as desired, the operation of the device, and especially the pressing of that portion of the device, where the roller 17 is located, into contact with the surface to be polished, would cause the roller 17 to move up or down sufficiently to unseat the brackets 19 and 20 on the base plate 10 unless, by some means, the brackets were firmly locked in place. Consequently in order to hold the brackets 19 and 20 and therewith the roller 17 firmly in place at all times while the device is in use, a pair of outwardly extending engageable lugs, and 36 (Figures 2 and 3) are secured on the outside faces of the brackets 19 and 20 respectively a short distance above the bottom edges of the brackets. The lug 35 on the bracket 19 extends out far enough and is so positioned as to be engaged by the flange 27 at the bottom of the leg 27 when the flange 27 is secured by the wing nut 32. The corresponding lug 36 on the bracket 20 is similarly engaged by a finger 37 mounted near the bottom of the leg 29. Thus when the handle frame assembly is secured in position, as illustrated in the drawings, the brackets 19 and 20 will be locked in place where they have been set, but when the handle frame assembly is released and swung over on the hinge pins 28' and 29, the brackets 19 and 20 can then have their positions manually adjusted if this is desired.

The over-all length of the rollers 15 and 17 is approximately equal to the width of the base plate 10. Preferably, however, the polishing belt 11 is wider than the base plate 10 so that it will extend a slight distance beyond the side edges of the base plate and extend slightly over the ends of the rollers, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, and the belt 11 could be so made as to lap over the edges of the roller and base plate. Having the belt 11 extend beyond the ends of the rollers and beyond the side edges of the base plate prevents any possibility of the edges of the base plate or the edges at the ends of the rollers from coming into direct contact with the surface which is being polished. Otherwise, under certain circumstances, such contact might cause some marring of the polished surface. The edges of the rollers can also be slightly rounded to avoid the possibility of the belt wearing where it extends beyond and over the ends of the rollers.

As apparent, the only metal which can contact the surface which is being polished would be the legs of the handle frame assembly, but since these extend out beyond the sides of the polisher only at some distance above the bottom of the polisher, there would be no likelihood of this occurring. This fact also enables the end portions of the polisher to be used for polishing curved surfaces and grooved surfaces, a feature which is generally lacking in other power-driven polishers of the endless polishing belt type.

As previously mentioned, the rollers 15 and 17 may be made of various suitable materials in preference to metal. They may, however, be made of metal and provided with a relatively soft surfacing to give a soft but firm base for the polishing belt at both ends of the device. Similarly, the base plate 10 could be surfaced on the bottom side with a softer surfacing, for example, nylon or woven glass, which would also provide a slick surface for the polishing belt to slide over while producing a softer though firm polishing base for the device.

Other minor modifications might be made in the construction of the polisher described without departing from the principle of the invention, but the particular form in which the polisher is illustrated in the drawings is considered to be the preferred form for the carrying out of the invention and makes possible the inclusion of all the mechanism of the device within the space encompassed by the polishing belt, which is an important feature of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a polishing device of the character described, a substantially rectangular base member, a pair of brackets secured near one end of said base member and located inwardly from the side edges respectively of said base member, a roller rotatably mounted on said brackets, an electric motor mounted on said base member, a driving belt connecting said roller with said motor, a second pair of brackets adjustably mounted near the opposite end of said base member, cooperating engaging elements carried by said second pair of brackets and said base member for setting said second pair of brackets in desired adjustable position, a second roller rotatably mounted on said second pair of brackets, an endless polishing belt extending around said rollers and passing beneath said base member and encompassing the space in which said motor and said pairs of brackets are located, a handle assembly attached to said base member on opposite sides and extending around and above the side edges of the upper stretch of said polishing belt and terminating in a handle centrally spacedabove said polishing belt, said handle assembly hinged to said base member on one side edge of said base member and removably secured to said base member on the opposite side edge of said base member, and cooperating engaging means on said handle assembly and on said second pair of brackets holding said second pair of brackets firmly against said base member when said handle assembly is secured in normal position on said device.

2. In a power-driven polishing device, a substantially rectangular base member, a pair of brackets secured near one end of said base member and located inwardly from the side edges respectively of said base member, a roller rotatably mounted on said brackets, said roller having an intermediate portion positioned between said brackets and end portions located on the outside of said brackets respectively, an electric motor mounted on said base member, a driving belt connecting said roller with said motor, a second pair of brackets adjustably mounted near the opposite end of said base member, cooperating engaging elements carried by said second pair of brackets and said base member for setting said second pair of brackets in desired adjusted position, a second roller similar to said first mentioned roller rotatably mounted on said second pair of brackets, an endless polishing belt extending around said rollers and passing along over the bottom face of said base member and encompassing the space in which said motor and said pairs of brackets are located, a handle assembly attached to said base member, a pair of legs on said handle assembly hinged to said base member on one side edge of said base member, an opposite pair of legs on said handle assembly removably secured to said base member on the opposite side of said base member, said pairs of legs extending upwardly and outwardly over the side edges of the upper stretch of said polishing belt and meeting in a handle spaced above the top of said upper stretch of said polishing belt, and cooperating engaging means on said second pair of brackets and on the adjacent legs of said handle assembly holding said second pair of brackets firmly againstsaid base member when said handle assembly is secured in normal position on said device.

3. A power-driven polishing device including a substantially rectangular base plate, a roller positioned above and beyond one end of said base plate, means for rotatably supporting said roller in fixed position with respect to said base plate, an electric motor mounted on said base plate, drive means connecting said roller with said motor, a second roller positioned similarly above and beyond the opposite end of said base plate, means for rotatably supporting the second roller in adjustable position with respect to said base plate and said first mentioned roller, an endless polishing belt extending around said rollers and passing over the bottom face of said base plate and encompassing the space in which said motor is located, and a handle assembly attached to said base plate on opposite sides and extending around and above the side edges of the upper stretch of said polishing belt and terminating in a handle centrally'spaced above said polishing belt, said handle assembly hinged to said base plate a slight distance inwardly from one side edge of said base plate and removably secured to said base plate a slight distance inwardly from the opposite side edge of said base plate, the width of said polishing belt being not less than the width of said base plate and over-all length of said rollers.

4. A power-driven polishing device including an elongated substantially rectangular base plate, a pair of brackets secured near one end of said base plate and located inwardly from the side edges respectively of said base plate, a roller rotatably mounted on said brackets, said roller having an intermediate portion positioned between said brackets and end portions located on the outside of said brackets respectively, an electric motor mounted on said base plate, a driving belt connecting said roller with said motor, a second pair of brackets adjustably mounted near the opposite end of said base plate, cooperating engaging elements carried by said second pair of brackets and said base plate for setting said second pair of brackets in desired adjusted position,

spring means resiliently holding said second pair of 6 brackets on said base plate, a second roller similar to said first mentioned roller rotatably mounted on said second pair of brackets, said second roller similarly having an intermediate portion between said second pair of brackets and end portions located on the outside of said second pair of brackets respectively, an endless polishing belt extending around said rollers and passing along over the bottom face of said base plate and encompassing the space in which said motor and said pairs of brackets are located, a handle assembly attached to said base plate, a pair of legs on said handle assembly hinged to said base plate on one side edge of said base plate, an opposite pair of legs on said handle assembly removably secured to said base plate on the opposite side edge of said base plate, said pairs of legs extending upwardly and outwardly over the side edges of the upper stretch of said polishing belt and meeting in a handle centrally positioned and spaced above the top of said upper stretch of said polishing belt, and cooperating engaging means on said second pair of brackets and on the adjacent legs of said handle assembly holding said second pair of brackets firmly against said base plate when said handle assembly is secured in normal position on said device.

Huber July 29, 1924 Beach Oct. 11, 1932 

